A holy end, no matter how glorious, can never be vindicated by unholy means. To many Americans the Iraq war was, and is, unnecessary. To some Americans the Iraq war was, and is, unjust. (I happen to believe that it was neither of these, but that is not the point of this column.)

As long as I have covered politics, I never realized until now that one of the most powerful people working the government scam right under my nose was a seemingly meek, bleeding-heart Democrat named Jim Martin.

It never has turned out well when the president's party also has a majority in both House and Senate for the Senate majority to be filibuster-proof. If the majority has 60 votes, it can overcome a filibuster and ram whatever it wants into law, regardless of how ill-advised on sober reflection it may be.

In a recent guest editorial, David Kennedy once again took aim at what he doesn't like. Namely anyone who would dare do anything to address the issue of illegal immigration in this country or in this community.

Demagogy refers to a political strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices and fears of the public typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda. Unfortunately, demagogy is an effective strategy for getting elected and many politicians continue to use it.

November 30, 2008|
By David Kennedy
Guest columnist
|Community columnists